A Dyadic Examination of Marital Quality at the Empty-Nest Phase

Abstract

This study aims to achieve a better understanding of the later stages of the family life cycle by exploring couples' marital quality during the empty-nest years of their relationships, using the actor–partner interdependence mediation model. The empty nest is the family stage that begins with the departure of children from home. In the hypothesized model of marital quality, husbands' and wives' satisfaction at having raised successful children serve as predictor variables, whereas their levels of perceived stress act as mediators. A sample of 344 participants, forming 172 heterosexual couples, participated in the study. The results of path analyses indicated that the model provided an acceptable fit for the data. Closer examination suggested that wives' and husbands' perceived stress fully mediate the relationships between husbands' tendency to view their children as successful adults and both spouses' marital quality. The article discusses interdependence and gender differences between spouses concerning their empty-nest experience.